All the Little Caterpillars love the wheeled toys - are they just good fun?

We have been pretty proud of our achievements with the outdoor garden area and many of you will know that we abolished all our lightweight plastic ride on toys over a year ago and gradually started to replace them with higher quality 'Winther' Ride Ons.  We have found that since replacing the cheaper plastic versions children have a better quality play. We used to find that children would take more pleasure in just picking them up and throwing them around than in actually using them to ride on but with these heavier and more robust toys they can't do that because they are too heavy. We have sourced a range, or fleet as I like to call it, of different types and sizes so that all the children can enjoy at least some of them depending on their physical ability.

The taxi.....

The ones, like the taxi above, and the 3 seater encourage children to co-operate and help each other out.  It is undeniable that all the children love playing on the ride on toys. There is never really a day when they are not chosen for play at all.  We are lucky to have the space to create this wonderful decked area on which children can practise their skills in control, balance, spatial awareness and hand to eye co-ordination.  That's not forgetting that there are always opportunities for turn-taking, sharing and generally being friendly and enjoying the company of other children.  To add extra challenge we have installed a ramp and the children learn how to safely manoeuvre themselves up and down it. 

What we have tried to avoid is a space where wheeled toy play dominates everything or that other activities are prevented from taking place.  Fortunately this does not have to be the case here because we have a very large outdoor play area in which children are free to move around at will. 

The few boundaries that we have set include limiting the number of ride on toys out on the decking at any one time to 2.  This means that the decking does not get swamped by them and there is less chance of collision or accident.  The children can choose which ride ons they want out and are encouraged to ask, or indicate by pointing if they do not have the speaking skills, which ones they want at any one time.  We do encourage them to access them themselves where they can but some of these ride ons are heavy and for little ones it sometimes not quite possible.  We also ask children to wear footwear, shoes or wellies when they are outside because if they go over a foot then they do hurt.

What happens when demand for the ride ons is more than 2?

When several children all want to play then it's time for turn-taking or perhaps swapping one of the individual toys for one that 3 children can use....negotiation skills!  While children are waiting they may decide to go off and do something else which is fine.  Just pop your name down on the chalkboard (with help if you need it) and wait until your turn comes up (encouraging emergent writing skills).

What next?

We are currently adding additional ramps to add interest, experimenting with different surfaces and introducing a track so watch this space....

Taking on an Early Years Apprentice....

(This post is based on my own experience and current knowledge - anyone thinking of taking on an apprentice should find out as much possible from other sources such as www.apprenticeships.org.uk or their local training provider before making a decision as to whether it will suit them)

So there seems to be an increasing amount of interest in childminders taking on an apprentice.  I hope I haven't, in the past, put anyone off doing this by suggesting that apprentices are unreliable.  Yes I had an unfortunate experience when ours left prematurely but this wasn't necessarily due to the fact that she was an apprentice.  First of all I still believe that the Apprenticeship Scheme is a good one and we are, in fact, currently looking for another one.  The first misconception might be that apprentices are all young or school leavers.  This is not the case, there is no age limit on apprentices so they can be any age.  Clearly the rate that you pay your apprentice may attract a certain age group (ie. a mature person with a family to support may not be able to survive on the minimum apprentice rate of £2.71 per hour) but you do not have to pay the minimum you can of course pay more than that if you choose to.  An apprentice will generally have to work a minimum of 30 hours per week.  I think there may be some instances when less hours are acceptable but this is something you would need to speak to the training provider or www.apprenticeships.org.uk about.  Finding a training provider - you can search for a training provider on the www.apprenticeships.org.uk website or you may know of a local college or provider who offer childcare courses.  Different providers will have different ways of delivering the training and some may require the apprentice to be released for a day a week, for example.  This doesn't suit me and my business so I have opted for a training provider where all the study is independent with the support of a tutor.  Do you have to give your apprentice time off for study? - You don't have to they do it in their own time unless you are super nice and give them paid time off for study. Either way I would make it clear from the outset what your expectations of them are.  Can you take on more children with an apprentice?  Yes you can do as you would with any assistant as long as you stick to the ratios in the Statutory Guidance - ie. 3 in the Early Years and 3 in the 5 to 8 age group per practitioner.  I would register them as an assistant with Ofsted using the EY2 form as you would with any other assistant.  As with any assistant you will need to consider what would happen if your apprentice were to be off sick or leave.....we found ourselves in a pickle when ours left as we had maxed out on numbers.  This is not a problem that is exclusive to apprentices, this could happen with any assistant so it is just something to be aware of.  I suppose the fact is that if you pay an apprentice a relatively low wage then they are more likely to look for other positions on a better rate of pay and may be drawn to another position where the grass looks greener.  Can I leave my apprentice alone with children or do they need to be supervised? If you want to leave your apprentice unsupervised with children then they will need to have a DBS check and hold a 12 hr Paediatric First Aid Certificate (completed within 3 years).  On a personal level I have now stipulated that our successful apprentice will have these before they actually start work with us.  I have also stipulated that the apprentice will be responsible for paying for the DBS check and the first aid course but that I will reimburse them for both after 8 weeks of working with us but you may wish to pay for them for the apprentice.  How long does an apprenticeship last?  If your apprentice is doing a level 2 qualification then these generally take about 1 year.  If they are doing a Level 3 then these can take 18 to 24 months.  Do I have to employ the apprentice at the end of their apprenticeship?  No you don't have to.  I have always made it clear that there may be the possibility of a job at the end but I certainly make no guarantees.  What sort of contract should they have?  I have used a fixed term contract in the past.  All terms and conditions such as entitlement to paid holidays, notice periods etc.... must still be observed but the contract states that the employment will end on completion of their training.  Do I have to pay for any of their training?  If your apprentice is 16-18 then 100% of their training will be paid for.  If they are aged 19 to 24 then 50% of their training will be paid for and if they are over 24 then a contribution may be made towards their training.  Personally I would speak to the training provider about this as sometimes they seem to be able to access funding from various streams.  What is the Apprenticeship Incentive Scheme?  The scheme pays an eligible employer £1500 for taking on an apprentice - there are various stipulations which can be read here:
http://www.apprenticeships.org.uk/~/media/Documents/AGE16TO24/AGE-Employer-Fact-Sheetv16.ashx   My training provider completed all the paperwork for this for me and I successfully received the payment - The apprentice has to stay with you for a minimum of 13 weeks and although it then says that the payment should come through 9 weeks later in reality mine was more like after 26 weeks.  This scheme is due to end on 31st December 2014 unless it is extended once more although there does not seem to be any suggestion of this that I can see at the moment.  I still believe that we, as childminders, can give apprentices a good grounding for a career in Early Years and Childcare.  They will get to work with children of all ages and they can become involved in pretty much every aspect of what we do.  I think it is great that we are able to offer this opportunity.  It is a big commitment though not only financially but emotionally as well.  You have to be ready to support the apprentice through their training and in their work and some may come to you with little or no experience of work at all so your responsibility is not only to employ them but to mentor and support them too.

You are more than welcome to take a look at our Early Years Apprentice job description and person specification here:
http://issuu.com/eharris1974/docs/apprenticeship_opportunity_2014/1